“Early in September, President Trump gathered Republicans running in competitive races for a dinner in the White House Rose Garden. Prime aged beef burgers were on the menu as the president made a pledge to spend the final month before the midterms campaigning for the approximately 30 Republican candidates in attendance,” NPR reports. “‘I’m going […]

“The Trump administration on Friday released final plans for President Donald Trump’s 250-foot-tall triumphal arch that do not include drones, snipers or other features of the ‘military complex’ that Trump said he would add to the project,” the Washington Post reports.

“White House chief of staff Susie Wiles helped set up Katie Zacharia’s appearance on Fox News Thursday night, when the embattled new press secretary struggled to answer questions about her rocky first days on the job, according to two people familiar with the internal dynamics,” Politico reports. ”She was ousted hours later on Friday.” “The […]

“Nationalist parties are notching election victories and leading in the polls across Europe. One recipe for their success: keeping their distance from Trump and his MAGA allies,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Leaders of Alternative for Germany, or AfD, which finished first in two recent regional elections, have scaled back their public interactions with MAGA […]

“One of President Trump’s many false claims about the 2020 presidential election, which he has repeatedly, and falsely, claimed was rigged against him, was an assertion that there had been ‘thousands and thousands’ of ‘crooked votes’ cast in Wisconsin nursing homes,” the New York Times reports. “The allegation was unfounded. Yet the view that American […]

“No single state in America better captures the forces and fault lines shaping the coming midterm elections than Pennsylvania,” the New York Times reports. “Just two years ago, Pennsylvania was at the epicenter of a nationwide Republican revival. President Trump swept its electoral votes. His party ousted an entrenched Democratic senator. And it was the […]

“All these races that are showing we’ve got a two- or three-point lead or it’s a toss-up, we could end up losing all of them by two points. It’s within the margin of error.” — Former President Barack Obama, quoted by the Washington Post.

“President Trump is halting implementation of most of the sanctions that were to be imposed on Russia under a bipartisan bill he signed last month,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “The announcement came in an executive order on Friday night, and was part of a broader pivot by Trump toward courting Moscow as he seeks […]

“At a rally in north Georgia, Donald Trump again claimed that the 2020 election in Georgia was fraudulent, alleging that the election of U.S. senator Jon Ossoff was illegitimate,” The Guardian reports. Said Trump: “He was never elected.” MS NOW: Trump campaigns in Georgia, a longtime focus of his election fraud claims.

“Federal agents collected garbage in hopes of obtaining the DNA of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and her family before this week’s raid at the Minnesota Democrat’s home in Washington,” NewsNation reports. “Investigators historically have used secretive ‘dumpster diving’ to obtain DNA when search warrants were not possible or would have tipped off investigatory targets. It […]

“The Trump administration announced on Friday that it was banning unauthorized drone activity along the southern U.S. border with Mexico as part of efforts to curtail criminal cartel operations and other cross-border security threats,” the New York Times reports.

“One of the last big campaign-finance snapshots before the Nov. 3 Election Day is now available, and both political parties found something to like. But campaign cash is flowing in very different ways — and, on balance, points to an environment more favorable for Democrats,” CNBC reports. “On one side, Democratic candidates have turned into […]

“John Thune took criticism from President Donald Trump, agitated online conservatives, and occasionally frustrated some of his own members this year,” Semafor reports. “Yet his next leadership election is looking smooth compared with the past couple of bouts to lead the Senate GOP. In fact, Thune may actually run unopposed this year, regardless of how […]

“Dear Katie Zacharia — Speaking as the world’s leading expert on short White House tenures: turn off the news and go enjoy your family. In time you’ll realize that the Universe did you a major favor.” — Anthony Scaramucci, on X.

The Atlantic: “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has enjoyed President Trump’s full support for any number of Trumpian initiatives: staging macho, campy shows of military bravado; trashing political opponents and the press, often by name; dissing European allies; posting videos of air strikes on suspected drug boats off the coast of Latin America.” “But Hegseth apparently […]

“A federal appeals court panel sounded deeply skeptical Friday about President Donald Trump’s effort to invalidate the Watergate-era law that governs presidential records — and played a central role in the criminal charges he faced for hoarding classified documents at Mar-a-Lago,” Politico reports.

Wired: “Elon Musk has assembled a presidential-level field operation this midterm cycle, underscoring the extent to which he has taken over the get-out-the-vote effort for the Republican party.”

“The United States budget deficit approached $2 trillion in the 2026 fiscal year, its highest level since the pandemic, as spending on the military, safety net programs and interest on the debt dwarfed the Trump administration’s cost cuts, Treasury Department figures showed on Friday,” the New York Times reports. “The widening gap between what the […]

Los Angeles Times: “In the final stretch of the 2026 midterms, nearly two weeks out from election day, a White House that has enjoyed relative stability over the past two years has returned to the state of disarray that characterized much of Trump’s early political career, anticipating sweeping losses to Democrats in the House and […]

A new Public Policy Polling poll in Nebraska finds Jim Pillen (R) leading Lynne Walz (D) in the governor’s race, 44% to 43%. Nebraska Governor’s Race Jim Pillen (R) 44%   Lynne Walz (D) 43%   Public Policy Polling poll · likely voters · ±4.1%

FiftyPlusOne: “We do not have nearly as many polls this year as we’ve been accustomed to in past midterm cycles. In many Senate races, we’re practically flying blind, which may mean some surprises in what looks to be a particularly turbulent environment.”

“Elon Musk approached Donald Trump with the idea of slowing down Starlink in Ukraine,” The Telegraph reports. “The billionaire tech entrepreneur approached the U.S. president with the proposal to introduce speed limits on the system, which hampered Ukraine’s drone defenses.” “One of the sources said Mr Trump ‘agreed’ with Mr Musk’s suggestion, paving the way […]

“In North Carolina and Georgia, Democratic Senate candidates are lapping their Republican rivals in fundraising, according to new campaign finance reports,” the Washington Sun reports. “It’s the latest ominous sign for Michael Whatley and Mike Collins, the Republican candidates who have seen national party attention shift to other races amid attempts to win enough seats […]

“After being called a ‘weasel’ who should ‘shut his mouth’ by Vice President JD Vance, Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed said he was something else instead,” CBS News reports. Said El-Sayed, a Michigan alumnus: “No, no, no. What you’re talking about is a fucking Wolverine. You could take your Buckeye and go shove it […]

“More than 1 million people have already cast their ballots in Alberta’s referendum on separation from Canada, signaling strong voter turnout that pollsters say may favor the ‘remain’ side,” Bloomberg reports.

“Donald Trump is once again praising Bill Maher following a dinner he had at the White House with the HBO host along with Stephen A. Smith and Kid Rock,” Deadline reports. Said Trump: “It was a great dinner, it was a very informative dinner. Smart people. Stephen A. is great. Bill Maher — I will […]

“President Donald Trump said he didn’t order limitations on Ukraine’s access to SpaceX’s Starshield satellite technology and didn’t think Elon Musk did so either,” Bloomberg reports. Said Trump: “It wasn’t me and I don’t think it was Elon. I don’t know if it was anybody.”

“President Donald Trump said Friday there is ‘zero chance’ he’s considering replacing White House chief of staff Susie Wiles after reports that suggested as much,” CNN reports. Said Trump: “The Susie Wiles story was a fake story She’s been incredible. She’s smart and tough; she just went through a lot with the cancer surgery… Susie […]

Playbook: “With fewer than three weeks to go, the national environment keeps deteriorating for Republicans, and some Democrats are starting to dream of a big blue wave — even as warning signs remain that some GOP backlash may not translate to Democratic conversion.” “The deluge of campaign spending is now hitting its peak, as candidates […]

“Records are made to be broken. But I take no pleasure in other people’s pain.” — Anthony Scaramucci, on X, on Katie Zacharia lasting less than half the 11 days he did in Donald Trump’s White House.